Mallard in Classic Boat Jan 2016

MAYFLY
OF THE
BROADS
If you’ve ever cruised the Norfolk
and Suffolk Broads, you’ll recognise
this day launch. Now she flies again
STORY AND PHOTOS RICHARD JOHNSTONE-BRYDEN
T
he beautiful flowing lines of the new Mayfly 17
day launch underline a pedigree that stretches
back to the early post-war years when the late
Billy May was asked to build a 14ft (4.26m)
motor launch with a twin cylinder air-cooled Norman
engine. Named Miss Potter, she triggered the founding of
Maycraft in Potter Heigham and became the basis for
nearly 50 mahogany-on-oak, clinker-built day launches
in lengths from 12ft to 18ft (3.65m to 5.5m). The first of
Miss Potter’s derivatives was commissioned a couple of
years later by a customer who wanted a 16ft (14.87m)
version complete with a windscreen and seats. Billy
could see the commercial potential of hiring out one of
the new boats on a self-drive basis to holidaymakers
from Maycraft, so he built a pair side-by-side. He kept
the first one, named in honour of his wife Olive, and
delivered the second boat to the instigator of the project.
Three more Olives were produced for Maycraft’s hire
fleet with the last one being built in 1952 alongside the
first Kathleen which proved to be the yard’s most
popular design. She had been ordered by a Mr Hayden
62
who worked in Great Yarmouth as an optician and
owned one of the riverside bungalows near the boatyard.
Named after Mr Hayden’s wife, the 17ft day launch had
an open-backed cabin, a spacious cockpit and was
powered by a Ford E93A petrol engine. By the early
1970s approximately 25 of these launches had been
built, of which 12 were operated at some point by
Maycraft either from new, or after they had been bought
back from private owners. Miss Potter’s other derivatives
included a 12ft runabout powered by a 4hp Stuart
Turner engine, an open launch fitted with a 40hp Seagull
engine that was rigged up to a steering wheel up
forward and an 18ft version of Olive built for the
Gorleston-based amateur fisherman Claude Peacock.
When Billy retired he handed over Maycraft to his son
Harry who continues to run the business together with
his grandsons Alan and James. The trio specialise in
refurbishing and maintaining wooden boats in addition
to operating the hire fleet. Maycraft’s original wooden
launches have been steadily replaced over the years by
more modern GRP craft to leave just two Kathleens
Below left to
right: Mayfly 17’s
mahogany laid
decks; the retro
steering wheel;
fender detail;
smart Timage
chrome fittings
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MAYFLY17
(numbers 6 and 9) still available on either a daily or
weekly basis, while Kathleen 1 and Miss Potter are laid
up at the yard awaiting their turn to be restored.
The development of Miss Potter’s latest descendent
occurred entirely by chance when Alan May and Chris
Edmondson’s former business partner struck up a
conversation about their trucks, which moved on to
the subject of classic river launches. When Alan
learned that the two boatbuilders were trying to find
the right design for their new business, he suggested
that they should come across to his family’s boatyard
where he might have something suitable. “The moment
I saw Kathleen 10’s hull suspended from the boatshed’s
roof I knew this was the boat for us,” Chris said. They
later struck a deal with the May family to take a GRP
mould from the hull of Kathleen 10 for use with a new
deck moulding. As these plans took shape Chris took
on sole responsibility for the project when his business
partner decided to pursue alternative interests.
Although Mayfly 17 is the first boat to be developed
and built by Chris Edmondson in his own right, he has
clocked up several years of boatbuilding experience
working for boatyards across the Broads on a range of
projects from GRP Essex Smacks to luxury motor
cruisers, wooden motor launches, and classic Broads
yachts, as well as specialist plug and mould work.
Originally from Lancashire, his passion for boat
building was sparked by childhood boating holidays
on the Broads and the sight of traditionally styled
motor cruisers being built in Wroxham for the Ernest
Collins hire fleet in the late 1970s. On leaving school
Chris secured a five-year apprenticeship at Douglas
Boatyard in Hesketh Bank near Preston which
specialised in wooden trawlers. In the absence of a
Kathleen, above,
was the basis for
the modern
boat’s lines (main
picture)
boatbuilding college, he enrolled in a cabinet-making
course at the Central Liverpool College of Further
Education to secure a City & Guilds qualification
which added depth to his training. In 1988, Hardy
Marine offered Chris the chance to realise his dream of
building boats in Norfolk and embark on a journey
that led, 26 years later, to the establishment of his own
business a stone’s-throw from Potter Heigham.
Rather than follow the easy route of simply
replicating Kathleen’s proven design, Chris was
determined to create a new launch with a distinct
identity. But the production of the hull moulding
offered little scope to achieve this. Apart from the
switch to GRP, the only significant changes to be made
to the hull were the addition of a rope fender and the
replacement of the stern-hung rudder with one below
the waterline to enable stern-on mooring. In contrast,
the development of the top moulding, cockpit layout
and wooden screens provided Chris with the
opportunity to firmly stamp his own mark on the new
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Main picture:
boat. The final result was influenced by the styling of
the classic speed boats built for the American lakes and
a decision to create the largest possible open cockpit
within Mayfly’s beamy hull.
To achieve the right sweeping profile for the
mahogany plywood screens, Chris used sheets of
cardboard to create full-scale mock-ups which he tuned
until happy with the result. To cater for changeable
weather, a practical two-piece canopy fits over the top of
these screens. It can be used in five configurations from
fully enclosing the cockpit to its complete removal, so
allowing the amount of protection it offers from the
elements to be increased or reduced.
The white GRP deck moulding has been enriched by
the inclusion of mahogany laid decks and the elegant
chromed fittings supplied by Timage. The integrated
African mahogany steps between the aft and side
bench seats provide a safe route to step down from the
quayside into Mayfly’s cockpit. The combination of
this seating together with a pair of swivel seats up
forward, enable up to nine people to be accommodated
in comfort. Propulsion currently consists of a 14hp
Nanni diesel engine or a Vetus 2.2kW water-cooled
electric motor. The latter has been fitted to the featured
boat along with a pair of 170Ah batteries under the
side seats amidships to give Mayfly a range of 6 to 8
hours which could be doubled by fitting two more
batteries in the locker below the aft bench seat. Either
power plant can be mounted below the foredeck,
freeing up the centre of the cockpit to take a mahogany
plywood picnic table. After use, the table top is
detached from its pedestal and stowed in a locker via a
slot in the forward bulkhead. The table’s pedestal is
stowed in the storage locker under the aft bench seat.
The helm position’s equipment has been kept to a
minimum with a battery monitor, a lever to control the
64
Mayfly 17’s
cockpit, with
Vetus seats,
compared with
helmsman’s seats
in Kathleen (inset)
MAYFLY
LOA
17ft (5.18m)
BEAM
6ft (1.83m)
DRAUGHT
1ft 4ins (0.41m)
PROPULSION
14hp Nanni
diesel or 2.2kW
Vetus electric
motor
electric motor and a discreet central consul of just three
switches. The retro steering wheel adds a nice touch
which is very slightly undermined by the inclusion of the
two Vetus helmsman’s seats. They were originally
chosen for practical reasons to enable the occupants to
turn and face the picnic table. But Chris is considering
offering the option of mahogany slatted seats for future
boats along the lines of the ones fitted to the Kathleens.
Having seen Mayfly at this year’s Horning Boat
Show exhibited ashore on a road trailer, I was
intrigued to see how she performed on the water.
Launching her from the trailer into the River Thurne
was straightforward and before long we were heading
downstream through Potter Heigham where she drew
plenty of admiring glances. Mayfly proved responsive
with the electric motor giving her a good turn of speed
while the hull created very little wash.
Future Mayflys can be tailored to a customer’s exact
requirements which will inevitably determine the final
price. At the time of going to press, the basic diesel
powered model costs £19,500 while the equivalent
electric version can be purchased for £21,500 –
which rises to £23,680 for a Mayfly built to the
same specification as the featured boat.
Chris Edmondson Ltd Tel: +44 (0) 1493 748988;
Mobile 07500 946531; Maycraft Boat Services
Tel: +44 (0) 1692 670241 maycraft.co.uk
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